For Jennifer Page, the goal has always been clear.
And she hopes wrestling for Oklahoma City University will get her there.
“The Olympics has always been my goal, even before women wrestled in the Olympics,” Page said. “When I was 5 years old, I figured I would just wrestle the guys, but now I can stick to wrestling the girls.”
Page, of Orangevale, Calif., was named outstanding wrestler of the tournament at the NWCA National Duals on Jan. 6-7. The top-ranked freshman at 143 pounds won all three of her matches over the weekend, helping lead the No. 1 Stars to their fifth straight NWCA National Duals title. She is this week’s Super Star of the week.
“It was my first time to win outstanding wrestler,” Page said. “I’ve always wanted to win that so it was pretty awesome.”
Page’s performance at the NWCA National Duals included a 1-0 decision over Alli Ragan, ranked first at 136, from King (Tenn.). Page had lost to Ragan twice in previous meetings between the two.
“More than winning outstanding wrestler I wanted to beat Alli Ragan, and I was actually happier about that than winning outstanding wrestler,” Page said. “I asked my teammates for advice on how to beat her, and I knew all of her moves so I practiced defending those moves, and it worked out this time.”
Wrestling is not the only interest Page had growing up.
“I was in a lot of other sports other than wrestling,” Page said. “I did ice skating for a while, I own a horse, and I do horseback riding, and I can play the piano.”
As a freshman, Page is uncertain as to what she wants to study at OCU.
“I’m majoring in kinesiology right now, but I’m thinking of changing to French,” Page said. “I took French in high school, and I really liked it.”
More on Jennifer:
My nickname: Jen
Sporting event I would like to see someday: Olympics
Favorite athlete: Rulon Gardner and Cael Sanderson
Reality show I hate: I don’t watch much TV
Reason I picked OCU: Wrestling